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Friday, January 21, 2011

Chacma Baboon mom

Its always exciting coming face to face with family. Even if that family is a species or two removed. Not that I'm saying I have family that are baboons. Some friends could be another story... On one of the days we spent swimming at the Cascades falls in the Drakensberg we had a troop of baboons pass us as they made they way along the Mahai River. The one female had a tiny little baby with here and she parked herself not very far from me showing off the little one for the camera.

The Chacma Baboon, also known as the Cape Baboon, is one of the largest and heaviest baboon species and can weigh between 15 and 30 kilograms. The males are considerably larger than the females and have canine teeth as long as 2 inches, which is larger than the canines of a lion. The Chacma baboons in South Africa are usually dark brown and is quite wide spread throughout the country.

Chacma Baboons live in social groups which is normally led by a dominant male. They are omnivorous with a preference for fruits, while also eating insects, seeds, grass and smaller vertebrate animals. Unfortunately they can become pests around campsites as they quickly learn that there are food to be scavenged from bins and will then keep on coming back to an area and could easily become pests.